I design and create handbags using recycled leather and donated drapery fabrics. My bags are all one of a kind - because originality is always in fashion! I remain committed to my clients, my products and to the environment. The bottoms of my bags are reinforced with a product that I receive from my local grocer and even the paper I stuff my bags with is recycled packing paper.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Oh baby, baby it's a wild world!

Ok so it was a crazy weekend! Extremely busy with the family - Easter dinner and all the trimmings! Of course I completely overdid it and now I'm back on bed rest for 3 more days! Doctor's orders!! But the most exciting news from the weekend is that not only did I have 5 sales from my Etsy shop - yes, that's right 5 sales, I also had a request to allow one of my poems to be published on Sea of Tears facebook page! I'm beyond excited!
First of all 5 sales after nothing for weeks was such a boast and then to have one of my poems recognized was the icing on the cake!
I found the Sea of Tears people after reading an article about them in my local paper. I checked out their website and discovered that they have monthly contests so I submitted one of my poems. The rest is history...

Cape Breton artist Brenda Reichel has used sea glass from beaches near Inverness to develop a series of commemorative Titanic-inspired jewelry pieces, such as the one pictured, to be sold during the centennial celebrations of the ill-fated ship. (CONTRIBUTED)

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A fascination with the Titanic and a love of the Victorian-era was all the inspiration Brenda Reichel needed to create her new jewelry line.
Using sea glass from the beaches near Inverness, the Cape Breton artist has developed a series of commemorative Titanic-inspired jewelry pieces to be sold during the centennial celebrations of the ill-fated ship.
The Tears of Glass vintage-style pieces, which include earrings, necklaces, pendants and bracelets, are available at Maples Gallery at Bishop’s Landing in Halifax and at various galleries throughout the Maritimes for as long as Reichel can keep up with the demand.
The idea came when she explained the origin of sea glass to tourists visiting her studio, Reichel said Thursday. It’s believed that much of the glass that washes ashore comes from old shipwrecks and coal mining ships that once dotted the seaside.
“As soon as I mentioned shipwrecks, they got so excited at the thought that it could be from the Titanic,” Reichel said from Inverness. “Probably not ... but the romance of it all is fun and with the anniversary coming up and my love of that era of jewelry and the story itself, I knew I was onto something.”
Reichel said she and her sister, for as long as they can remember, have talked about, researched and fantasized about the grand ship and the tragic fate of its 1,514 passengers.
Through her years of research, Reichel discovered one woman, Rhoda Mary Abbott, whose story she feels deeply connected to and to whom her Titanic-inspired jewelry collection is dedicated to.
Abbott, the story goes, jumped from the sinking vessel in order to save her two teenage sons but was the only one to survive.
Reichel recently lost a son to drowning and it was the time she spent walking the beaches of Cape Breton after his death that she re-discovered her childhood love of beach combing for sea glass. Four years ago, she founded Tears of Glass and began creating jewelry as a form of healing.
“I could feel for her and relate to her because I, too, lost a son,” Reichel said.
With thousands of tourists expected to descend on the Maritimes over the next month, Reichel said orders are pouring in from every province. She has enlisted a helper to keep up but with each piece taking at least two hours to complete, Reichel said shes working around the clock to meet the demand.
Each piece comes with a reproduction of the original Titanic boarding pass and features pearls, crystals and imagery popular in the early 1900s like dragonflies and birds.
(ccosgrove@herald.ca)

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About Me

I was born and raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick, but have now spent the better part of my life in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I`ve always had a creative nature, but it wasn`t until I attended some classes at Nova Scotia Center for Draft and Design that my talents began to blossom. I met so many amazing artists there who made me aware that absolutely nothing is beyond ones imagination.
And so began...
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